Dr. Charles Mick named new president of the North American Spine Society

One of the best things about writing profiles on local people who do big things is never knowing when to expect the unexpected.

I got a call the other day from a colleague who asked me to profile Dr. Charles Mick. Dr. Mick's long list of medical credentials and his ongoing dedication to the North American Spine Society (NASS) have earned him the honor of being named President of the organization for 2013.

Dr. Mick has been a member of the team at Pioneer Spine and Sports Physicians for almost 20 years. He's a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who performs upwards of 200 spine surgeries a year.

But Dr. Mick is also a marathon runner, with three New York City marathons and two Boston marathons to his credit. He also built a post-and-beam barn in Vermont from scratch. (And when I say scratch, I mean cutting down the trees and milling the wood himself … by hand.)

He told me that after 10 years serving on the NASS board, he was honored to be named the organization's president. NASS is the largest professional medical association focused on spine care in the world, with over 7,000 members, he said. The membership includes professionals in several areas of medicine: orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, radiologists, pain medicine specialists, psychologists and physical therapists.

"Very few medical societies embrace multiple specialties all dedicated to one area of medicine," he said. "This diversity of perspective and expertise makes the society extremely powerful and effective in influencing spine care and health policy issues worldwide."

One of the most immediate issues on the table for 2013 and beyond is implementation of the new Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Mick said the challenge will be to define and discover how to provide high quality care nationwide, at an affordable cost.

"In many ways I'm excited to see this movement occur," said Mick. "For years, physicians have been hesitant to change the way we do things. But now we're being challenged to change the paradigm. But that change won't happen overnight."

"Many people of my generation grew up watching Marcus Welby, MD on television, and fondly remember his small town folksy approach with patients," he said, "...Hopefully we can find new ways to preserve the best from the past, integrate the amazing technological advances achieved during the past 50 years and design a delivery system that makes this available at an affordable cost."

Dr. Mick is also looking forward to spreading the word about NASS' work in the field of ethics, disclosure and conflict of interest.

"A decade ago, we recognized that professional relationships between industry and physicians were essential for medical advancement," he said. "We also recognized that these relationships create the potential for conflict of interest and bias that is not in the best interest of patients. A physician's primary responsibility must be in the welfare of their patient. Industries' primary interest is in sales and the prosperity of shareholders."

In addition, NASS has developed strict limitations and prohibitions for individuals with significant financial conflicts of interest from serving in key leadership positions within the society. For example, Mick said, members of the Board of Directors at NASS cannot also serve as owners, speakers, consultants or advisors for medical device manufacturers or the pharmaceutical industry.

"We want all the decisions we make to be based solely on the care and well-being of the patient," he said.

The North American Spine Society was started 28 years ago in Chicago. Today, 20 percent of its membership is international. And for Dr. Mick, that means plenty of travel time in the near future, with trips planned for Beijing, Hong Kong, India, Brazil, and all over Europe.

"I just returned from a trip to China where there are 100,000 orthopedic specialists," Mick said. "It's great to meet, to learn, to share and exchange ideas. And believe me, the sharing goes both ways. I was able to tour their premier hospital and came away very impressed."

"While traveling in Europe I was surprised at the bewilderment, expressed by doctors in Europe regarding our health care system. Many are amazed that a country as advanced as the United States is unable to provide health care for all of its residents and that the care provided is twice the cost of that in Europe. We clearly have much to learn from each other."

Dr. Mick said he's looking forward to fundamental changes in the world of spine care. He anticipates that over the next 10 years, new treatments will change the way we treat patients.

"Over the next decade we'll be developing biological interventions that could make some surgeries obsolete," said Mick. "New advances are helping to promote repair of damaged tissues and stimulate growth. Growing bone, cartilage and new spinal discs is currently being studied in laboratories. We hope to be able to use this research clinically in the near future. These advances could result in life-changing treatments, especially for individuals with spinal cord injury and for older adults who want to remain active."

Even though television shows like "Marcus Welby, MD" may be more fiction than fact, those shows where the surgeon listens to his favorite music at work are accurate. Same goes for Dr. Mick and his surgical team.

"We do play music in the operating room because it can get pretty stressful in there," said Mick.

And what's on the OR playlist these days?

"Oh, when I get to choose the songs, a little Nine Simone, BB King, and Luther Johnson are favorites of mine."